Military should have its own site at Nanisivik, Michael Byers suggests

The Government of Nunavut has repeatedly said it will be happy with whatever location the federal government decides to use for a much-anticipated port.

But Michael Byers, a political scientist who frequently comments on Arctic matters, thinks Nunavut should get two ports: one for the military and one for everybody else.

Building a cargo facility in Iqaluit would help reduce the cost of living across the territory, Byers suggested, while the dock left over from the old Nanisivik mine would be ideal for protecting the Northwest Passage.

"The obvious thing to me is to refurbish the existing deep water facility at Nanisivik," he said.

Though now abandoned as a town after 30 years of lead and zinc mining, Nanisivik remains home to both a dock and an airport equipped with a 6,400-foot gravel runway. The airport still serves nearby Arctic Bay and the coast guard has used the dock for refuelling in the past.

Neither the coast guard, nor Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which actually owns the dock, could produce anyone to comment for this story.

Speculation about the construction of a deep water port in Nunavut has been running rampant since Stephen Harper, the prime minister, announced a decision on the matter was coming soon.

It's expected he'll make an announcement in the coming weeks, perhaps during a rumoured visit to the North.

Iqaluit and Resolute Bay are thought to be front runners for a deep water port.

"Any such deep water facility should fulfill a number of roles, not just a military refuelling role, but also facilitating the delivery of supplies to northern communities," Byers said in an interview.

"Just about every small community in the Atlantic provinces has a government wharf and yet the capital of [Nunavut] doesn't," he said. "It's inexcusable."

The dock at Nanisivik was used for years to haul away ore and coast guard ships have called there frequently in the past. It would make an ideal location to resupply Navy and coast guard ships patrolling the Northwest Passage, Byers said.

"The combined cost of that would be relatively small given the vast economic potential of the North. I think it would be money very well invested," he said.